


It’s Always The End of The World

by the_butler



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Bittersweet Ending, Fluff and Angst, M/M, mention of other Avengers - Freeform, you know what happens to Bucky in Infinity War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-31
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-12-30 02:54:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18306743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_butler/pseuds/the_butler
Summary: “All he knew was that for now, he was a soldier again, complete with a brand new arm, fighting for a cause, following a guy he used to know from Brooklyn- one who didn’t know when to run away from a fight.”





	1. End of Half of the Universe

He used to deal in guns, bullets, knives. Now, it’s goats. 

Bucky stepped out of his hut to look over said goats. He’s had to mend the fence for the goat pen more than once. Goats are like that, it turns out. Yellow eyed bastards, the lot of them, yes even the female ones. Especially the female ones. They always want to wander out and off, never mind fences. Bucky sighed. It’s probably some kind of poetic justice that it’s him that ends up looking after goats, in a way, maybe. Steve probably would find it that kind of thing. Speaking off- and now Bucky smiles- the very man who was sleeping in his hut should right about now be waking up. He looked back just in time to see a bleary-eyed Steve exit the hut, yawning and stretching. Last night had been... well last night was a lot of exercise both of them hadn’t had for a long time. Steve spotted him and immediately broke into a radiant smile. A smile that took Bucky back to a far more simpler time- two best buds in Brooklyn who only had one care in the world (hint: it was World War II). Can’t believe that’s simpler times now- even without the war diseases were a whole other thing on their own. Oh and can’t forget the rampant everything else. But that smile, well, it made him believe of a far better time then or now. 

“Mornin’ ya’ punk.” He calls out as Steve makes his way towards him. 

“And to you too, ya’ jerk. Left me waking up alone.”

And here they would usually hug like best buds do, but nowadays they kiss. And why not? Bucky thought. It’s always the end of the world, one way or the other, might as well just go for it. Who’s gonna stop them? Bucky leaned into the kiss, prolonging it, and he felt Steve smile again.

“Whoa, hold your horses cowboy, I ain’t going anywhere.”

“Yet.”

Steve’s smile turns regretful, and he ducks his head to avoid Bucky’s accusing look. A sigh, and Bucky turns back to watch the sun rise, his right arm hugging his midsection. 

“You know, you don’t have to leave. I bet the king would grant you your own hut if you ask him nicely.”

“Yeah, he’d probably let me look after sheep if they had them.”

“I think they’re more into goats.”

“You’re a goat.”

And they both laughed, not that the joke was particularly funny, but its just the banter that gets to them. They both can’t resist a banter, anytime they get together. It’s like their Paris, or something. Steve closed in and wound two arms around Bucky, who was still facing the sun rise. Steve pulled him in closer and let fall his head on Bucky’s shoulder. Still watching the sun rise, Bucky whispered, “Hey.”

“Hey.” Steve whispered back.

“I ever tell you I like the beard?”

Steve looks up, stared at Bucky’s profile, adoration clear in his blue eyes. 

“I like it. A little ticklish though.”

A smile breaks out again on Steve’s face, even while Bucky continued to ignore him in favor of an already risen sun. They stayed like this for a few more moments, and then Bucky spoke again. 

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Just... stay.”

The smile left, just as Bucky knew it would, replaced by a serious look tinged with guilt. 

“I can’t.”

Bucky sighed. “I know.”

“I’ll come back. I promise.”

Finally, Bucky turned his head to look Steve straight in the eye. A small, tired smile graced his lips. 

“I know you will.”

*

Steve did come back, true to his word, but after so long and with company in tow. It was the end of the world again, heck, the end of half of the universe, they said. It didn’t matter. They could take half his goats, the bastard. As long as Steve was back, as long as Bucky got to touch him even if only on the shoulder in the company of others. 

Ah, and the others were a mix of old allies and new. He’s told they’re taking a stand in Wakanda, where the country’s far superior tech could somehow even the playing field when fighting against advanced alien life forms hell bent on, what was it again, ah yes decimating half of the universe. For what purpose, Bucky didn’t really bother to learn. All he knew was that for now, he was a soldier again, complete with a brand new arm, fighting for a cause, following a guy he used to know from Brooklyn- one who didn’t know when to run away from a fight. Steve joked to him, “well, are you willing to follow Captain America into the jaws of death?”, clearly referencing something, probably banter they had during the war. But his memory’s shot in places, while so clear in others. Steve smiled sadly when he didn’t answer the right thing. It’s okay though- soon enough Shuri would develop some brain device that would completely let him regain his memories, all of them, the good and the bad. As long as he remembered every single one with Steve.

In between preparations, they managed to get a few moments to themselves. Romanov probably had a hand in it, the meddler, but Bucky’s grateful for even just one moment of quiet, shoulder to shoulder with Steve. His Steve. He nudged. 

“I knew you’d come back.”

Steve smiled, and Bucky felt whole again. More whole than when they presented him with a fancy new vibranium arm. 

“I promised, didn’t I?”

“Mm. And I see you haven’t shaved.”

“Well, somebody told me they liked the beard.”

“That somebody was right.”

Steve turned to look at him, eyes crinkled with mirth, and Bucky found himself smiling back. It’s the end of the world again, and they’re carrying on like schoolboys who just learned how to flirt. This time it was Steve who said it first.

“I missed you.”

Bucky stared longingly at those full lips, and then thought what the heck, and went for a kiss. Steve met him halfway. It was brief, but full of promise. 

“After this...”

“Don’t jinx it, ya’ punk.”

“I figured. If we survive this. Again. I want us to stay together, wherever it is.”

Steve stared at him in serious silence after the declaration. Bucky licked his lips, a tinge nervous. He could feel his chest squeeze, like his lungs were about to burst. But he’d never not played it cool, and he wasn’t about to start being a punk now. 

“Yeah. Yeah I’d like that.”

They shared another brief kiss, and then rested their foreheads together, their eyes both closed, just breathing, sharing the quiet moment. It was just another war, like all the other wars, Bucky thought. He’d gone to hell and back. He’d go through a lot worse, but this time Steve was by his side. 

*

The fight was chaos, but what war wasn’t, Bucky thought. Out on the plains he even picked up a talking raccoon for god’s sake, whirled it around while it shot bullets and hurled insults, and got a threat to his arm for his troubles. He needed to find Steve, he needed to be there for the idiot, probably getting himself into a fight he can’t win, and Bucky had to have his back. He couldn’t remember where Sam was either, probably somewhere overhead, providing cover. The guy could fly at least, and here was Bucky and his shiny new arm and all he could do was shoot at a never ending horde of aliens of some sort. The plan was shot to hell, whatever little plan they had, and everyone was in disarray, fighting in little pockets of desperation. He saw lightning crackle overhead, and that must be that lightning god, Thor, and something in his bones compelled him to follow its trajectory. 

Into the woods he couldn’t make out things as clear as on the plains, of course, but headed to where he thought the god might’ve landed. Whatever that powerhouse was fighting is probably the most important, and if he knew Steve at all, that was where the guy was. A born hero, his best guy was, and though it gave him more grief than he cared for he wouldn’t change it for the world. 

And sure enough, there he was. But something was off, everything was too still. Wasn’t there some kind of energy...? But there was Steve, his Steve, just a little ahead of him, back turned and seemingly intent on something. It will be okay. It had to be. They were going to survive this, they always do, and then they’d finally get their peace, a peace they’d been fighting for all their lives, and if it meant they had to live with twenty headstrong goats then so be it. He gritted his teeth. They were so close. Then he felt a chill start from his legs and his hand, and all he could say was, 

“Steve?”

Who turned around, a little too late, to see Bucky and their future disintegrate before his very eyes.


	2. After The End of The World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Sucks to find out time travel exists, but there ‘ya go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to follow up with a second chapter reflecting events in Avengers: Endgame. Heavy spoilers. I hope you like it.

“Do it.”

Steve turned around, eyes wide, completely surprised. He had been inside his quarters at the compound, stealing a few moments of quiet to himself before his next mission. He wasn’t counting on Bucky to be there, last time they chatted he was taking count of his goats back in Wakanda. And then, there was the funerals, a small one for Tony and an even smaller one for Natasha, when they all had the chance to hold it on the Avengers compound. He thought Bucky went back to Wakanda with T’Challa and his cohorts, at least that’s what they talked about last. He had a feeling Sam had a hand in this, but can’t be entirely sure. 

“Do it. Whatever it is you’ve been agonizing about this past hour. Just do it.”

Bucky said, sauntering into the room and calmly sitting down on the bed. 

“Been standing by the door for that long and you didn’t even notice. Getting sloppy in your old age, Cap.”

There was a smug smile on his lips, but his eyes look tired- there was always that look, Steve noticed, a tiredness that can’t be erased in the depths of Bucky’s eyes whatever it may be that’s happening- a celebration, a war, an intimate night in. Oh, he masked it well in the company of others, but Steve can always tell, knew how to look into those light blue eyes that sometimes shaded grey, and his heart always ached for the man. There were depths to Bucky that would always be unplumbed, no matter how hard he tried. And neither of them were at fault. 

“You... you don’t know what you’re telling me to do.” Steve started, hesitating over his words. “I don’t even... myself, I’m not sure...”

Steve looked down at his hands, leaned back on the chair, not daring to meet Bucky’s tired eyes. 

“I think I do.”

“But...”

“Stevie. Just do it.”

“You don’t even know what it is!” Came the outburst, a reaction to the nonchalance of Bucky’s tone. Steve looked up, brows furrowed, and felt the beginning sting of tears in the corners of his eyes. “What I’m about to do... what I’m planning to... Bucky can’t you see? It means...”

“It means you’re going back to her.”

And there it was. Out in the open, in plain language, the thing that had agonized him ever since he saw Peggy through those blinds back in the 70s, in their madcap scheme Scott insisted on calling “Time Heist”. When a possibility that never existed, shouldn’t have existed, finally opened to him. He put it off for as long as he can, buried it deep inside as a soldier would- there were too many things to do, by far more important, and they all needed him, needed him to be Captain America, continue being Captain America. But now, after the end of the world, in the dim light in his shaded room, he reached for that possibility in his mind. But how could he? He had Bucky- after mourning him for five goddamn years he finally had Bucky again. And he had promised, hadn’t he? That after the end of the world, they would finally stay together, wherever it is. And so, how could he?

“Stevie.”

He hadn’t noticed Bucky left the bed, and was now kneeling in front of him. His vision blurred with the tears that threatened to spill, tears he felt would not stop once it did. He felt Bucky’s arm go around him, holding him in a tight embrace, and he automatically hugged back and buried his face and his guilt in the crook of Bucky’s neck. He heard his name whispered over and over again, like a prayer, and he imagined Bucky’s face- eyes shut tight, brows furrowed, his face an expression of fierce desperation. The tears came harder, how could he face Bucky now? 

“Stevie... ya’ punk, it’s alright.”

Steve pulled back, a man in agony, and as he wiped his face he asked, “How could you say that? Going back to her means leaving you.”

Bucky stared at him for a moment that seemed like forever, and then shrugged. 

“I know you Steve. Known you since you had newspapers in your shoes. If there’s one person in the world I wouldn’t mind losing you to, it’s Peggy Carter. Your true north. Why else would you have her damned picture in that old compass of yours, eh? Little bit on the nose if you ask me.” Bucky cocked his head to one side and gave him a rakish smile despite the tears forming in his own eyes. “Sucks to find out time travel exists, but there ‘ya go.”

Steve felt himself smile, despite the tears in his eyes and the turmoil in his heart. 

“What if you go with me?”

Bucky wiped his eyes before theatrically rolling them. 

“Can’t. Gotta stay back and look after our little birb.”

“Our what?” Steve asked, momentarily confused.

“Birb. Y’know, kid slang for bird.”

Steve laughed, and it buoyed his aching heart somehow, that he can still banter and laugh like this with Bucky, at the eve of their parting. 

“You gotta stop hanging out with Queens.”

“Yeah, well a runt from the New York Burroughs, he kinda reminds me someone. Makes me wanna protect him, y’know?” 

Steve scoffed, pretending to be offended. “Well, ‘he’ is hardly a runt.”

“Yeah, okay, but he sure is a punk.”

“Jerk.”

The laughed again, and when it died they looked at one another, a smile on both their faces.

“You gotta promise me something though.”

Steve’s heart lurched. “What?” He asked, breathless.

Bucky reached down and held his hands. He squeezed them as he said, “Promise me you’ll enjoy every minute of it. Promise me you’ll make it all worth it.” Bucky looked like he might cry again, but held it in after looking away for a moment. “And at the end of it, promise me you’ll come back for me one more time?”

Tears came back as he surged forward and held Bucky tight. “I promise”, he whispered, over and over, a prayer and an oath.

*

“Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.” Steve said, eyes full of emotion.

Ah, he knew this one. Bucky answered, “How can I, you’re taking all the stupid with you.”

Between them, there was no resentment, no hurt. Only an unspoken understanding that this was a farewell. Bucky wasn’t sure how much Sam knew, probably not that much. In the time they had cried in each others arms they had also planned out Steve’s last mission. Sam would be in for the surprise of his life in about ten seconds. 

When Bruce (or was it Hulk, or Hulk-Bruce?) counted down and Steve wasn’t inside the quantum thingamajig, Bucky had to remember to act surprised. And in a way, he still was. He would be lying if he said there wasn’t a small part of him hoping against hope that maybe Steve would change his mind. But he also knew Steve didn’t make that decision lightly. And he promised Bucky, didn’t he? That in the end, he’d find him. He always promised to come back, no matter how long it took. Bucky had faith in Steve- he was Bucky’s true north after all. He counted off in his head the appropriate amount of time before wandering off a bit and spotting- there. On the bench. Just like Steve said he would be. 

He called out to Sam without looking, and nodded towards the direction of the bench. There sat an old man. Bucky felt a pang in his heart as he listened in on Sam and Steve’s conversation. Felt the pride swell in his chest as Sam took the shield. Sam walked back towards him, and put a hand to his shoulder and squeezed it.

“Did you know?”

Bucky just shrugged, and Sam laughed.

“You bunch of 100 year old punks.”

That brought a genuine smile to his face, and he looked forward to being the Sgt. Barnes to this Captain America, who shook his head at him and walked away in the direction of Bruce/Hulk. Would Sam still sport his falcon suit? He better, Bucky thought, he didn’t have any Super Soldier serum on him and that suit was Sam’s main advantage. That would be a treat- a flying Captain America. Their little birb all grown up. 

He listened for Bruce and Sam’s steps to be a long way away before taking one step himself, down to where the old man was still sitting, waiting. He sat down and they basked in companionable silence, watching the sun get ready to set.

“I kept my promise, Buck.”

Bucky smiled, and felt the tears form in his eyes as he felt Steve’s head on his shoulder. 

“Yeah... I knew you would.”

*  
End.

**Author's Note:**

> First fic for the MCU. Hope you liked it and thanks for reading.


End file.
